There's no magic to what I'm doing with social, but I said I'd talk about what I'm doing differently. I think it's worthwhile to go into a bit of detail here, because the result is I'm more productive and my experience might help you get more done. Here goes:
When I look back on my 2024 social media posts, I shared stuff about my blog and ebook, The Write Group (Amazon or other fine retailers). Plus, I sprinkled in some shares based on inspiration from Joanna Penn's podcast—such as Author Brand (February 4, 2024)—and even experimented with cookie recipes (yum), hikes and gardens and fooled around with TikTok videos. Frankly, I was all over the place, spending hours, morning, noon and night, on multiple platforms. Worse than that, I spent lots of time scrolling.
While it was wonderful to make connections with interesting authors and readers, I also slipped down various time suck rabbit holes (like many people have done, maybe even you). These holes stoked my frustration, diverted my attention, fomented resentment and eroded action. Not only did I waste my writing time, I hurt my heart with pointless anger.
Believe me, as an American, I have plenty to be angry about, but action is what's needed in both my personal and writing lives; not doomscrolling for hours.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that everybody quit their social accounts, but reflecting on your social media usage is a good thing if you want to increase your productivity. When I looked at my behavior, I realized how much time I wasted.
So, nothing dramatic: My change for 2025 was to schedule time to engage. Otherwise, I leave it alone. But when the reminder pops up, I switch my focus for a few minutes, then get back to work or enjoy other things (reading!).
Sticking to my new schedule, here's the result: More words, more pages, more reading, more creative ideas, more facts, more getting into good trouble. You get the picture. What did I miss? Flaming comments. Crazy conspirators. Downright falsehoods. Ads for useless things. Spammers. Haters.
So, if you're interested in getting writing things done (maybe other things, too), I'd like to follow you. We can connect on Bluesky, where I do WriterSky #writingsprintwednesday. And I typically amplify my blog posts on Instagram, Threads, and my author Facebook page. (Please like, share, comment.) But wherever we connect, we won't waste our time. We'll make writing and good trouble action our priorities. Keep writing!
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